Fish net



May 4, 1948; c. E. FISHER 2,441,015

' FISH NET Filed Jan. 12, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. Ch ariasEl' z'she'l v .flfi'brng s' y 1948- c. FISHER 2,441,015

I FISH NET Filed Jan. 12, 1944 3 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. C'har'lea Elffisher Patented May 4, 1948 Atom oerree This invention relates to: fishnets; and; more particularlyto ar rotating; not: which may be allowed.to: drift: with the: tide; be. anchored; or. towed: and; which may be.used: at; any. desired depth. 1

It isknown: fish: have certain habits which are universah. When; fish;meet obstructions-= in the watentliey" at: once; sink.:.to.- deeperwater; going. nearlyt to the bottom 2 and: swimming. alongthezohstructioni EOl'rthiSzI'QESOhtSt-fll pole nets have long-wings; orleadeinse going. to-the bottom and leading to the trap on the deep-water end-of th'ezwingsr Thls-meansthe fish .must come to the.stationary; net to-be letvinto: the trap. In-orderto-havezanyrconsiderablecatch thewing or leadieinssare often a:thousandv feet on more in-1ength;

An: object of my invention is. to. provide-a: net which will 1 berotated 3 by Y thestideor. current and which will lead: the2 fish:directly. into thanet.

A further object iseto'providea nethaving-re, floating bottomhaving-wings whichwill-lead the fish upon settlingto deeper water: intothe float.- ing bottom.

Another. object is to. p fflvidaav net: which. may betow-ed uplonto abeach for-i repairs; or when not in: use and: which; may be;readilypulled off therbeach and into deeper water.

Still another object of, this.\ invention is the provision of:afishnetawhichis :adapted .to rotate under.- the influence of: thetidesor. other. cur.- rentsof water. The-rotation of; the-.net automaticallyfocuses. theeopeningsofithe net. or; some of themin the: directionfacing. the. oncoming flow oiwater. Such being-.the case, the fishwillmore readily be: trapped than: by. means of, a stationary.- netwhichalways: faces-.inaconstant direction irrespective ofJtlie-direction,ofiflowr of the currents -or-tides.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent fromthezaccompanyingdrawings and the following description.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation ofanet-embodying my invention;

Fig. 2. is an end view thereof, as seen from the direction. indicated bythe arrow markedidn Fig. 1;.

Fig, 3is .a plan view partly in section;,.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional'view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.- 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of.the. depth controlling structure; a

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the same structure.

I provide a supporting structure or frame Ill which:may beemadezofiwood-or other: suitable material 1 which; iszpreferably rectangular; inshape and includes abottom structure-.-. I 4 provided withskidsl zzandarr-innerv portion l'4ihavinga raised bottom 15. Thainnerrportion, I4 isprovided with. a plurality; of leading-in wings, preferably four, each.having.- sides. It; andv I]. A sloping floor I8; leads, from thebottomof v the :frame it upwardly: The. leading-in. wingsare. identicalandthe=sides l6.- and. H. of. each.wing are. pro-. videdrwith. anet;lfimwhiles the-sid I1 pr videdwith, a hin ed: plate or. vane- 2Q pivotedat 2| to the frame It]. Frame lillisrprovidedwith hearings- 2 5a inwhich, is. disposed. aqcenter shaft 25 adapted to allow the.frame..l0..to.rotate about it.

A, cable 26 is. attachedzto abushing 2]. at. the upper end ofthecentralpole andasecond bush? ins .28 engages the..cah1es..29and.30at: the. bottom of the. frame Eachuoftheawingsis provided .with anopening. or, trap .35"shape.d;like the frustrum .of. a pyramiihaving.afair sized open? mg. 3.6., at. one. end. and. areduced'. opening. 31.at the other; and the entire frame In is coveredwith netting. to...Mounted. in the lower. portion of the frame, preferably below. the.floor l5, is.a..plurality of air. tanks. 4-l,-- connected by pipes 42 tovalves 43in. saidspipesleading .to a. m in contro valve. 4 Each. set oftanks. 45L hasa separate valve @3. so that. the. net, may. be. trimmed.to

float-evenly.

The. manner in whichthis. is. done isto. shut off the-va1ve 4.3 which.is, connected to the set of tanks 45. sought; tobe partially emptied ofair. Thefvalve. 4.3a. which is located. between sai'dvalve 43. and. the.setof tanks 4..i'under dis,- cussion is then. opened. to. the. extent ncessa y topermit .suificientv air toescape from saidset of tanks. 45..Oncethis. is accomplished" valve 4 a is shut off. When it is againnecessary to. in.- crease. the, air content of. said set. f ta s 4valve. s3. is, reopened. and. air. enters. sa d set. of tanks throughthemain valve, 442

The cable ztis, attachedto. abushi e. or ri 5.i3..m0unted on apipe. 51.while. the cable 29 eneagesthering. 52. ontheopposi nd f sa d P I B-The. cable 3.11.. engagesthe supporti i for the tank. 5.5..whichisrpreierably rectangular and slidab y. mount d onlthe pipe. 5.1. The.fl x l hose- 56 leadsto. the pipe 5']. controlled. by the valve: 58.,and. eneaeesthe. nipple .59 leading into the tank. 551. The tank. 5.51 spr v d w th a op ning at; to, allow thepassage of water and air.will'bemore fully. described; The rings 51. and 52" are connected by thestraps- El and 62 to rings 63 and 64 about the pipe 65. In turn therings 63 and 64 are engaged by the cables 66 and 61 which engage the towline 68.

Mounted on the pipe 65 is a tank I6 having an outlet H and an inlet 12.A pipe 13 through which air is introduced into tank '16 by way of pipe65, is controlled by the valve 14. A cable 15 may be attached to theback of the frame for pulling it up onto or off of a beach. Each of thetanks 4| is provided with a small opening a to allow the passage ofwater into each said tank and it will be appreciated that an air hosewill: run from the attending boat or dock to be connected to the variousmaster or inlet valves.

Compressed air delivered through said airhose into said tanks 4|controls the amount of water which is permitted to enter'said tanks.When the net is to be towed or allowed to rotate against the tide theair is allowed to escape from the tank 55 andthe tank will fill withwater through the opening 60 and sink to the bottom of the pipe 5|.Asthe net is towed the vanes 26 will move on their hinges 2|. The vaneswill quite obviously be controlled by the current. As shown in Figuretwo of the vanes are held closed against the lead-in wings by thecurrent while the other two vanes are open, that is, away from saidwings. This produces greater pressure against the sides of the net wherethe vanes are closed and will cause it to rotate. As the net rotates,the open vanes are closed and the closed vanes opened by the force ofthe current, the current or tide thus continuing the rotation.

By controlling the amount of air in the tanks 4|, the net may be sunk orraised or trimmed in rough or uneven water. As the net rotates, fishcoming in contact with the wing sections will normally sink to deeperwater and, swim along the sides of the Wings [6 and I1 and will thus beled into the opening 36 and into the inner net or trap from whichtheycannot escape. When the net is filled it may be brought to thesurface, by forcing air into'the tanks 4 I, and emptied through the door80.

If it is desired to beach the net for repairs or to empty it,(in. orderto stop the rotation), air is forced into the tank.55 causing it to moveupwardly on the pipe 5| (as shown by dotted lines in'Figure 1) and topull the cable 30 upwardly between the skids I2, thus preventing furtherrotation. By forcing airinto the tank 16 the entire towing apparatuscanbe raised to clear the beach so that the net may be pulled ashorewithout injury. By controlling the amount of air in the tank Ill whenthe net is in use, the proper position of the cables 26, 29 and 30 canbe controlled to prevent their fouling. Normally, in beaching the net,it would be towed in by cable so that the cable levelling apparatuswould not be injured.

Inthe upper corner of the nets, members 8| may be provided to insureagainst fouling of the cables on the corner of the nets.

It will be appreciated that my net may be made of any convenient sizeand that many variations and modifications may be made without departingfrom the principles set forth. The drawings show a main valve 44controlling the flow of air into tanks 4|, a main valve 58 controllingthe flow of air into tank 55 and a main valve 14 controlling the flow ofair into tank 10. These valves may be connected to any suitable sourceof air under pressure, as for example, a compressed air tank on the 3 8i'4 or a pump for compressing air also situated on the boat. Otheralternatives are a portable hand pump or containers of gas underpressure other than air.

I claim:

1. A fishing net comprising a rigid frame, a plurality of wing shapedsections, one on each side of said frame, an inner trap, openings fromsaid wing shaped sections to said inner trap, means for towing said net,and means for rotating said net, said means comprising a plurality ofhinged vanes, adapted to be opened and closed by the current.

2. A fishing net comprising a rigid frame, a center shaft in said frame,towing cables on said shaft, means for controlling the position of saidtowing cables with relation to said frame, and

meansoperated by the tide or current to cause said frame to rotate onsaid shaft.

3. A fishing net comprising a rigid frame, skids on the bottom of saidframe, a central shaft mounted in said frame, towing cables on saidcentral shaft, said frame being divided into a plurality of sections, aninner trap, an opening from each of the sections into said inner trap, ahinged vane on each of said sections to cause said net to rotate withthe current, and. means for limiting the rotation of said net includingair tanks connected to said towing cables whereby the position of saidtowing cables with relation to said rigid frame and to the skids thereofmay be controlled. I

4. A fishing net comprising a rigid frame divided into sections. each ofsaid sections having a pair of wings, an inner trap, an opening leadingfrom each of said sections into said inner trap, a central shaft, towingcables communicating with said central shaft, and pivoted vanes on saidsections, said vanes being adapted to open and close to cause said notto rotate on said central shaft as it is towed through the water.

5. A fishing net comprising a rigid frame, an inner trap in said frame,wings leading from said inner trap dividing the exterior of said netinto a plurality of sections, floors between said wings slopingdownwardly, openings from said sections into said inner trap, and meansfor rotating said trap and for controlling the buoyancy thereof.

6. A fishing net including a rigid frame, an inner trap in said frame,wings leading from said trap dividing the exterior thereof into aplurality of sections, netting on said frame, vanes pivoted to said wingsections, a central shaft in said trap, cables engaging said centralshaft, and means for selectively controlling said cables to clear saidnet to allow said net to rotate when some of said vanes are engaged by acurrent or to engage said net to prevent its rotation.

CHARLES E. FISHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

